This year’s Propak East Africa show was a special one for FC Group because in July 2021, it was assigned the sole and authorised dealership in East and Central Africa by Kodak and Miraclon, its strategic partners.
FC Group and partners have been exhibiting at Propak West Africa in Nigeria for many years, so when it came to attending Propak East Africa, Fenton Curley, MD of FC Group – who attended the three-day show with staff from the UK, Kenya and senior partners from Kodak and Miraclon – says their expectations were exceeded. ‘We had a great first day, meeting with lots of interesting people and looked forward to the rest of the show. Engagement and networking during the subsequent two days were equally good.’
Fenton explains that the sales and engineering teams worked tirelessly during the three days, meeting with customers and key prospects before and during the show. ‘We saw our efforts – with our local and UK teams working against an active sales and engagement strategy after taking over the territory – pay off with the quality of leads and meetings taking place at Propak East Africa. Our awareness is further enhanced with prospects now that Kodak with its unique equipment is back.’
With a total of seven staff members attending the show, FC Group and partners ensured it maximised participation, lead sourcing and engagement. ‘The position for our stand ensured great feet fall and our branding stood out with the special bolts-on option we went for. Initial exposure through newsletters announcements and advertising pre-alerted potential customers of our participation, which also supported our feet fall,’ adds Fenton.
‘We’ll continue to harness relationships engineered prior and during the show and look forward to closing a couple of computer-to-plate, consumables and service sales,’ he concludes.
Successful showcase
This year’s Propak East Africa featured 150 exhibitors from over 35 countries, with 93% stating that they met the goals set for exhibiting and 86% believing that their sales would increase as a result of taking part in the show. Ninety-four percent of the 4 622 visitors achieved their goals for attending the show, which ranged from sourcing new products or suppliers (60%) and gathering market information (31%) to networking (54%) and attending a conference session (23%), which featured 26 global experts.
